Veteran actor-host Shekhar Suman, who stars in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's series "Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar" with son Adhyayan Suman, hopes the period drama will lead to bigger and better opportunities for them.

The 61-year-old actor stars as Nawab Zulfiqar in the show, while Adhyayan, 36, plays the role of young Nawab Zorawar as well as the younger version of his father's character in the show.

"The entire galaxy is open for us now. One of the biggest compliments that I would like to give to Mr Bhansali, though he doesn't need one, is that he works with the biggest stars and then turns them into actors. In this case, he has taken competent actors and turned them into stars," Shekhar told PTI in an interview.

"You can never predict the future, but when you work with the best, the best should happen to you... If somebody like Bhansali reposes so much faith in you, there's no reason why the others wouldn't follow suit. Once you're chosen by the best, the rest should follow," he added.

The actor said they both will look for challenging roles. He is also keen to work with his son on screen again. The father-son duo had earlier featured together in Shekhar's directorial debut "Heartless" (2014).

"Heeramandi", a lavishly-mounted Netflix series, stars Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Sanjeeda Shaikh in the lead roles.

Billed as an epic saga of love, power, revenge and freedom, the series explores the cultural reality of 'Heeramandi', a dazzling district, through the stories of courtesans and their patrons set against the tumultuous backdrop of the Indian freedom struggle of the 1940s. The series will start streaming from May 1.

Shekhar, who has appeared in movies such as "Utsav" and "Sansar" as well as cult classic comedy series "Dekh Bhai Dekh", said Adhyayan was the first to be cast in the show. And later, he was surprised to receive a call from Bhansali.

"My wife was complaining that why haven't I got a role in the same venture. And though as on cue, my phone rang and that was a call from Mr Bhansali. It was unbelievable that staying under the same roof, two different sets of actors, who actually wanted to work with Mr Bhansali, they both got an opportunity at the same time." According to Shekhar, Bhansali's sets, costume, characters and stories are on another level of grandeur.

"The biggest and the best that you could imagine was there for you. And you have to play well-etched out characters. Bhansali has an eye for detail and the way he presents you is like no one else. We were overwhelmed and surprised that we could look like that and be presented like that," he added.

“Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar" is based on the concept by Moin Beg. The series is created and directed by Bhansali. He also serves as a producer on the show.

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